Deal sought as clock ticks in tree case

BERNARDSVILLE With two court dates and a Board of Adjustment
hearing looming in the next 11 days, the borough and Ballantine
Road estate owner Alfred C. Eckert, III, may be poised to cut a
deal in their much-publicized tree-cutting dispute. Representatives
for Eckert and the borough planned to meet yesterday morning,
Wednesday, on a parcel Eckert owns along Young Road to discuss a
possible settlement, according to Mayor Hugh Fenwick. Among those
expected to attend were Eckert's attorney, Henry Hill, and
landscape architect Lawrence Tencza, Borough Attorney John Pidgeon,
Fenwick and Borough Councilman Jay Parsons.

Whether or not a general agreement is reached, both Fenwick and
Pidgeon said Monday they anticipate that the Borough Council will
discuss the Eckert case in executive session next Monday, Nov.
13.

Eckert was charged with violating the borough's tree protection
ordinance by all owing unauthorized tree-clearing by a contractor
last February on the Young Road parcel, which he had purchased two
months earlier. Eckert faces a maximum $1,000 fine and/or community
service. The municipal court case is scheduled to begin on Nov. 20
following several postponements.

Eckert later had an application rejected by the Shade Tree
Committee which sought permission to remove 27 more trees from the
property to allow for a 900-foot-long driveway. After an
unsuccessful appeal to the council, the matter ended up before the
Board of Adjustment. Eckert, however, also filed a lawsuit in state
Superior Court in Somerville challenging the constitutionality of
the borough's tree protection law.

The zoning board hearing, which began in October, is scheduled
to continue next Monday, Nov. 13. Four days later, Hill and Pidgeon
are due to appear before Superior Court Judge Robert Guterl for
oral arguments in the lawsuit.

In their attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute, the two sides
may get help from an unexpected source on Wednesday. Far Hills
Mayor Carl Torsilieri, owner of a Gladstone-based landscaping firm,
was expected to attend the meeting to offer suggestions. Fenwick
said Torsilieri was recently approached by Hill about helping to
find a resolution.

"I would say there is positive movement (on a settlement),"
Fenwick said. "That would appear to be a preferable solution to the
borough, Mr. Eckert and the neighbors."

Independent Expert

Fenwick would not speculate on what a settlement might include.
Earlier this year, the two sides appeared to be moving towards an
agreement that included Eckert paying for the planting of trees at
a park or other borough-owned land and devising some type of plan
for the Young Road parcel that was acceptable to neighboring land
owners. That deal, however, fell apart.

Torsilieri will analyze whether some of the trees Eckert would
like to fell for the driveway could instead be planted to replace
those cut down last February elsewhere on the Young Road parcel,
said Fenwick.

"I view him as an independent expert on whether those trees can
be moved," Fenwick said of Torsilieri.

Fenwick has sometimes angered Eckert and Hill with public
statements about the case in past months. The mayor said he
intended only to observe at Wednesday's meeting. "As far as I'm
concerned, this is between the two attorneys," said Fenwick. "I
don't intend to do anything but listen to the issues."

Pidgeon said he was "hopeful" a settlement could be reached
between the two sides but refrained from releasing details for fear
of jeopardizing it.

While a settlement would lead to the borough dismissing its
municipal court complaint against Eckert and the estate owner
dropping his lawsuit, the council does not have the ability to
completely resolve the Board of Adjustment proceeding, Pidgeon
noted.

The council could grant Eckert the permit needed to remove the
27 trees, Pidgeon said, but the board would retain jurisdiction
over any relevant zoning issues.

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